Teeth Whitening – Things to Consider

There might not be a more popular cosmetic dentistry procedure out there than teeth whitening, especially since just about everyone on the globe could take advantage of these solutions to enjoy a brighter, whiter smile! Thanks to Dr Gardee of glasgowsmileclinic.com for this conversational information – much appreciated.

In fact, the overwhelming majority of services that cosmetic dentistry offices process each and every year have to do with teeth whitening in one way, shape, or form – with many cosmetic dentists focusing almost exclusively on professional teeth whitening solutions that can transform a smile in record time!

If you yourself have been looking to take advantage of these teeth whitening options, but have absolutely no idea where to begin or what to focus on, you’ll find a lot of the answers that you need – and many answers that may surprise you – in the information contained below.

At the end of the day, if the goal is to enjoy a brilliant white smile, it’s a lot easier to achieve than you probably would have ever thought possible. Sure, you’ll want to make sure that you are taking advantage of the right services (recommended by the right cosmetic dentist), but there are a number of other things that you’re going to want to focus on as well so that you’re certain the job is done right the first time around.

Worry about enamel or just cover up the problem?

The very first thing that you are going to need to take care of (well before you even think about which cosmetic dentistry procedure you want to go through to whitening your teeth) is whether or not you are going to try and replace or repair the enamel on your teeth or just counted as a “lost cause” and cover up the issue.

You’ve probably heard that the enamel on your teeth is impossible to repair or replace, and that is certainly true – to an extent. Truthfully, there are a number of composite solutions out there that can pretty much duplicate or replicate the functionality or utility of tooth enamel, and you can use those substances to repair the cracks or the damaged spots in your teeth.
It’s not exactly the same thing (that’s true), but it’s the next best thing – and might be essential to you getting the kinds of results that you are after.

The important thing for you to understand is that if you decide to go forward with cosmetic dentistry procedures, you may not have to worry about repairing or replacing any of the enamel that you’ve lost. This is especially true when you’re talking about procedures like veneers, implants, and a handful of other options that will cover up the missing enamel or replace it entirely!

Bleaching versus whitening

Secondly, you’re going to want to decide whether or not you can move forward with a teeth whitening solution or a teeth bleaching solution.
While these two procedures share a lot in common, the truth of the matter is they are completely different procedures capable of producing completely different results.

Teeth bleaching is only permitted when you’re looking to whiten your teeth beyond the natural shade of brilliance that they can reach all on their own, and takes advantage of chemical formulations (like hydrogen peroxide and carbamide peroxide) that literally bleach the surface of your teeth to make them whiter than they ever would have been all on their own.

Teeth whitening is an entirely different animal. A process (or, more accurately, a number of processes) that help to restore your teeth to its natural brilliance while at the same time helping to influence a whiter smile, it’s not quite as effective (or as fast acting) as teeth bleaching – but it’s a lot less damaging to the structure of your teeth.

Obviously, you’re going to have to decide which of these two directions makes the most sense for you moving forward (with the help of your cosmetic dentist), but it’s vital to know that you have numerous options with which to move forward.

Tackling discoloration and staining

One of the essential components to whitening your teeth (regardless of whether or not you decide to go with a whitening agent or a teeth bleaching procedure – or something else entirely) is to tackle the problems of discoloration and staining.

Some of the discoloration and staining that you are going to be dealing with is on a surface level only, and can be caused by a lot of the foods and beverages that you consume on a daily basis. We are talking about soda, coffee, tea, tobacco, and a handful of other agents that can impact the color of your teeth over time – causing a bit of wear and tear on your teeth in the process.

However, there are also a number of stains and discolorations that can bubble up from the inside of your teeth until they are seen on the surface – and these are a bit more difficult to take care of.
In these instances, you’re almost always going to want to go with an external solution to take care of your teeth whitening needs (veneers are a perfect example), but not always. Depending entirely upon the level of the staining you might be able to get away with other solutions that are a bit less expensive and a bit less invasive.

Off the shelf or professional solutions

Finally, you’re going to need to decide whether or not you want to take advantage of an off-the-shelf and over-the-counter teeth whitening agent or move forward with a cosmetic dentist that can deliver you professional results.

With most of the off-the-shelf and over-the-counter products out there you’re going to be able to expect some results over time, but they aren’t going to be quite as brilliant (or quite as quick to manifest) as the ones you’d get from a professional cosmetic dentist.

On the flipside, even though a properly trained cosmetic dentist can transform your smile literally in an afternoon, they also are going to be much more expensive – to the point where you may need to save up for some time to fix your smile.

At the end of the day, only you are going to be able to decide and dictate which of these two directions you decide to go in. Just remember, there’s no rule that says you can’t combine one of these options with the other to get exactly the kinds of results you’re looking for on your budget and your schedule!